I've been covering the business of news, information and entertainment in one form or another for more than 10 years. In February 2014, I moved to San Francisco to cover the tech beat. My primary focus is social media and digital media, but I'm interested in other aspects, including but not limited to the sharing economy, lifehacking, fitness & sports tech and the evolving culture of the Bay Area. In past incarnations I've worked at AOL, Conde Nast Portfolio, Radar and WWD. Circle me on Google+, follow me on Twitter or send me tips or ideas at jbercovici@forbes.com.

Conde Nast's Open Secret: SI Newhouse No Longer In Charge

On Tuesday, Conde Nast chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. will gather the top editors and publishers of his magazine empire at the Four Seasons for a holiday luncheon. Until 2009, this was an annual event, but for the past two years the company has opted for a less expensive cocktail party in light of budgetary pressures. If past years are any guide, the afternoon’s seating chart will be analyzed for what it has to say about the company’s power structure, with proximity to the billionaire boss interpreted as a sign of favor.

Yet the real story has to do with Newhouse’s own power. In the time since the last holiday luncheon, authority at the family-owned publisher has quietly shifted from Newhouse himself to the board of directors. Although he remains very much a presence at 4 Times Square, where he lunches daily with the editors of Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and his other titles in the cafeteria he paid Frank Gehry $30 million to build, decisions Newhouse once made unilaterally now fall to the board. One source described his position now as an “emeritus” role, one that involves a great deal of respect but few concrete responsibilities.

On the face of it, there’s nothing especially shocking about this. Newhouse recently turned 84 and is said by sources at the company to have no intention of clutching onto power to the very end of his days, as some of his mogul peers like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone often seem to intend. Talk of a succession plan involving a greater role for the board has been around for at least three years.

What’s noteworthy is the way Conde Nast has managed to ease the transition into view without making headlines. Indeed, while several insiders I spoke with regarded Newhouse’s changed status as old news, others, including high-level veterans of many years, were unaware there had been a change. The only public acknowledgment has been oblique and craftily offhanded: In May of this year, Conde Nast’s president, Chuck Townsend, alluded to it in an interview with The Wall Street Journal:

WSJ: Is [83-year-old] Chairman Si Newhouse Jr. still as involved in the company as he ever was?

Mr. Townsend: He’s very involved in the content side. It’s at his own pace, but he’s very involved. There’s no one more competent than he is to participate in the assessment of the content. He’s chairman of the family board of directors that presides over Condé Nast. Bob and I run the business. When it gets to balance sheet decisions, the family’s involved.

WSJ: When Si decides to step down, how will the management structure change?

Mr. Townsend: The management structure is in place. We took a great deal of time and effort to define the operating management structure. The reporting of the CEO is to the board of directors. Si is a unique asset. You don’t replace Si Newhouse. But we will survive that transition very comfortably because the whole company is structured to do just that.

A Conde Nast spokeswoman says “nothing of note” has changed since that interview. Just what “very involved in the content side” means is unclear. While the company’s editors in chief still conduct walk-throughs of each issue with Newhouse prior to publication to solicit his input, editorial director Tom Wallace, the executive to whom most of those editors report, now reports directly to the board rather than to Newhouse, according to sources. The spokeswoman says the company doesn’t comment on reporting structures.

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